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Bloomberg/Businessweek's Top 50 US Cities to Live - 2012 Edition

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X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
San Francisco Is America's Best City in 2012

For the ranking, Businessweek.com once again teamed up with Bloomberg Rankings to evaluate data on 100 of the country’s largest cities. We looked at leisure attributes (the number of restaurants, bars, libraries, museums, professional sports teams, and park acres by population), educational attributes (public school performance, the number of colleges, and rate of graduate-degree holders), economic factors (income and unemployment), crime, and air quality. Major professional league and minor league teams, as well as U.S.-based teams belonging to international leagues in each city were included. This year we placed greater emphasis on leisure amenities than we did last year. The figures come from data company Onboard Informatics and the nonprofit Trust for Public Land. As the methodology was altered, changes in a city’s ranking from 2011 do not suggest that it has gotten “better” or “worse.”

There’s no agreeing on which is the “best” city for you to live in. For that, family connections, occupation, lifestyle, and perhaps a lifelong devotion to a doomed sports team all come into play. The list is our best stab at recognizing some of the most important common variables.

San Francisco, for instance, had the highest score for education (based on the previously mentioned factors), ranked sixth for leisure, and placed in the top 20 for economic factors and air quality. In addition to the usual plethora of food trucks, restaurants, bars, and parks, the diverse city also hosts an endless stream of events, including an annual jazz festival, a literary festival, and a number of fairs in the month of October alone. That, along with sheer breathtaking views, attracts about 129,000 tourists every day, according to the San Francisco Travel Association. The city’s cosmopolitan nature enhances the amenities available to residents year-round.

Add a lively arts scene. While cultural institutions such as the de Young Museum may house famous works, the city also tries to bring art to all its residents. Urban Solutions’ 2 Blocks of Art, a free art walk in the Central Market neighborhood, for instance, is one of a few projects bringing art to the city’s challenged areas. “I’ve worked here for three administrations and the local government leadership has always been supportive of the arts in the city. That’s really created a lot of the pride we have here,” says Robynn Takayama, community arts and education program manager at the San Francisco Arts Commission.

Not everything is golden in San Francisco, of course. An influx of young techies has driven up living costs. (Average rent for a studio apartment is $2,075, according to research firm RealFacts.) As the city has grown wealthier, it has lost some of its legendary grit. Yet it has one of the largest U.S. populations of homeless people.

Northwest cities claimed two further places in the top five on our list: Seattle (second) and Portland (fifth) edged out such southern California cities as San Diego (ninth) and Los Angeles (50th).

New York, the country’s largest city, placed seventh.

Safety boosted two Virginia cities: Virginia Beach and Chesapeake ranked second and fourth, respectively, in this category. The region, home to naval facilities and both active and retired military and defense-contracting professionals, was also among the most prosperous.

Washington, which placed first for leisure when factoring in amenities per capita, also received a boost from its second-place finish for education, ranking third overall.
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Full list: http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/2012-09-26/americas-50-best-cities

1. San Francisco, CA
2. Seattle, WA
3. Washington D.C
4. Boston, MA
5. Portland, OR
6. Denver, CO
7. New York, NY
8. Austin, TX
9. San Diego, CA
10. St. Paul, MN
11. Pittsburgh, PA
12. Minneapolis, MN
13. Nashville, TN
14. New Orleans, LA
15. Kansas City, MO
16. Atlanta, GA
17. Madison, WI
18. Raleigh, NC
19. Honolulu, HI
20. Columbus, OH
21. Cincinnati, OH
22. Houston, TX
23. Oklahoma City, OK
24. Philadelphia, PA
25. Lexington, KY
26. Milwaukee, WI
27. Arlington, VA
28. Chicago, IL
29. Baltimore, MD
30. San Antonio, TX
31. Oakland, CA
32. Rochester, NY
33. San Jose, CA
34t. Lincoln, NE; Tampa, FL
36. Colorado Springs, CO
37. Indianapolis, IN
38. Tulsa, OK
39. Charlotte. NC
40. Virginia Beach, VA
41. Dallas, TX
42. Reno, NV
43. Scottsdale, AZ
44. Phoenix, AZ
45. Chesapeake, VA
46. Cleveland, OH
47. St. Louis, MO
48. Omaha, NE
49. Anchorage, AK
50. Los Angeles, CA
 
T

Talon

Member
I'm from Atlanta and how anyone could put it over Chicago, Philadelphia, and Dallas is beyond my comprehension.
 
C

cousins

Member
Lol, what about San Fran is gritty now? It's all yuppies now, isn't it?

Also, wtf at Cleveland being before LA.
 
F

Future PhaZe

Member
Interesting, the three cities where I've always wanted to live came in a row. Love the idea of Seattle and San Fran, and while living in NVA right now I see myself moving to D.C eventually.
 
K

K.Sabot

Member
OKC is 75% trashy, out of date buildings and businesses and 25% Bricktown / Gated communities.

I never want to live there and am surprised to see it on the list.

Tulsa is like that too, but more concentrated and has more culture.
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
Talon said:
I'm from Atlanta and how anyone could put it over Chicago, Philadelphia, and Dallas is beyond my comprehension.
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That's what happens when you just dump a bunch of stats into a formula without including common sense, kind of like PER rating in basketball. I don't know how anyone could list Baltimore so high.

Happy to see Boston 4th in any case, I live right downtown and it's a great place to be.
 
K

KingGondo

Banned
K.Sabot said:
OKC is 75% trashy, out of date buildings and businesses and 25% Bricktown / Gated communities.

I never want to live there and am surprised to see it on the list.
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Low cost of living, nice historical neighborhoods, rejuvenated entertainment districts (Classen Curve and Bricktown), lots of investment in development via MAPS, easy to get around because of the highways, one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, not to mention the Thunder?

Yep, sure does suck to live here. Please stay away.
 
D

Davedough

Member
I motion to strike any entries of Arizona off the list. As someone who lived there for 7 years before escaping that hellhole, I disagree vehemently with this result.
 
L

LegendofJoe

Member
I didn't get the indication that cost of living was weighted as high as it should have been in their formula. That's a big omission if you ask me.
 
Hari Seldon

Hari Seldon

Member
This is relevant to my interests as I am likely going to be receiving a job offer in Chicago. What makes Chicago kind of mediocre? Note that I make decent money and will not be living in the slums or anything if I go.
 
F

Future PhaZe

Member
Man half of my family is in philly and I hate to admit it but I hate that place. Some of my favorite sports teams but it's just a hellhole.
 
F

Future PhaZe

Member
Eidan said:
I honestly don't know how we're fooling the world into thinking D.C. is a nice place to live.
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I'm about that life where I can get to the Ravens, Redskins and Eagles stadiums within a 3 hour drive along with good beaches and fantastic hiking areas and national forests. And dat D.C night life...GET EM
 
J

Jason's Ultimatum

Member
Sanky Panky said:
18. Raleigh, NC

Aside from being a hipster cesspool, the city is great. Beautiful setting, good downtown, cheap rent.
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I want to move back to NC and live in Raleigh. I'd be closer to D.C., too when it comes finding a job.

When I was a kid, I lived in Fayetteville. As a child, I loved it. A lot of fun things to do, but now I hear it's a shithole, and I'm pretty sure if I visited the place today, I'd find it awful.
 
L

LegendofJoe

Member
Jason's Ultimatum said:
I want to move back to NC and live in Raleigh. I'd be closer to D.C., too when it comes finding a job.

When I was a kid, I lived in Fayetteville. As a child, I loved it. A lot of fun things to do, but now I hear it's a shithole, and I'm pretty sure if I visited the place today, I'd find it awful.
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Yes, you would. The Triangle on the otherhand is a great place to live.
 
I

iamshadowlark

Banned
Hari Seldon said:
This is relevant to my interests as I am likely going to be receiving a job offer in Chicago. What makes Chicago kind of mediocre? Note that I make decent money and will not be living in the slums or anything if I go.
Click to expand...

The Crime, high cost of living, etc. If you are doing pretty good financially I hear its pretty great though. I've been a few times and the food is fucking amazing.
 
H

Host Samurai

Member
L.A is only awesome if you are loaded. I stayed with my cousin in Beverly Hills for a month and they don't do jack shit all day cuz they are loaded as fuck and just chill and party all day with models and shit. I live in NYC and there is no scene like that during the day. Nobody chills like that during the week. My mind was really blown on that lifestyle.

But if you are not in that scene in L.A, than it must suck. Imagine going out with no connection and last call is at 1:30 am? yeah that must suck.
 
C

codhand

Member
This list does not take into account cost of living. Or unemployment rates for that matter. Avg. rent for a studio apt. in san fran is 2G's?! gtfoh
 
S

Shake Appeal

Member
Raleigh will be my adopted city once the USCIS decide that I do, in fact, know and love my fiancée. It was 1st last year, 18th this year. Hidden gem.
 
E

Eidan

Member
Dark FaZe said:
I'm about that life where I can get to the Ravens, Redskins and Eagles stadiums within a 3 hour drive along with good beaches and fantastic hiking areas and national forests. And dat D.C night life...GET EM
Click to expand...

I should say I've lived in the D.C. area my entire life. I think my big issue is that I just need a change of scenery.

And I also really hate D.C.'s general lack of culture or character, mostly because of its large transient population, and the fact that the culture was priced out of the city into the surrounding Maryland suburbs.
 
B

Barkley's Justice

Member
cousins said:
Lol, what about San Fran is gritty now? It's all yuppies now, isn't it?

Also, wtf at Cleveland being before LA.
Click to expand...

They'll always refer you to The Tenderloin as some sort of "gritty" badge. But the fact is the T-L is just a containment unit designed to make the surrounding area nice for the tourists. It's a controlled environment.
 
E

Eggo

GameFan Alumnus
I am happy to live in the 50th city. You guys in Tampa, Indianapolis, and Cleveland can live it up. I'll suffer in the sunshine and good food out here. We may not have a football team yet, but I think I'll manage.
 
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